Putin Peace for Easter. He is SUCH a holy man!

 

00:

CNN  — 

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a brief Easter ceasefire in his war with Ukraine, a declaration met with skepticism in Kyiv as the war enters a crucial phase and US-led negotiations stall.

 

 

Putin said “all hostilities” would halt between 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday (11 a.m. ET) and midnight on Monday (5 p.m. Sunday ET).

(THEN...he'll open fire again. I'm sure Jesus will be pleased.)

 

Alabama in New York City

 

A street in New York Named for Claudette Colvin.

Obit

 Another longtime friend of mine has passed. Here is his obit, courtesy of his partner, Leon.

Douglas Lynn Smith

Doug, as known by family and friends, was born on June 8, 1952, in Birmingham, Alabama. He was a long-time resident of Sebring, Florida and passed away on April 16, 2025, in Lake Placid, Florida, after a long, bravely fought battle with Parkinson’s Disease. During the progression of the disease, Doug never complained about his worsening condition, rather choosing to quietly fight his battles with dignity, determination and grace.

He is survived by his long-time, devoted friend and caregiver, Leon Gober; sister, Susan Sparks and her husband, Michael Sparks (both of Oneonta, Alabama); brother, Harold Smith (of Vero Beach, Florida); and nephews Eric Sparks, Kevin Sparks and Jacky Smith.

Doug was preceded in death by his father, Lynn Thomas Smith; mother, Mary Fay Smith; aunt, Ray Glenn (all from Oneonta, Alabama, at their passing), and sister, Marion Smith (from Huntsville, Alabama.)

He graduated from Oneonta High School, Oneonta, Alabama, in 1970. Then he attended Birmingham Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama, with a B.A. degree in Communications.

During Doug’s early career he was an aspiring actor attending the HB Studio in New York City and also worked in advertising in New York City, New York, and later at Pizitz Department Store in Birmingham, Alabama. Later he worked in administration at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida, and then in personnel management at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. He retired as Human Resource Manager from the Douglas T. Jacobson State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Port Charlotte, Florida.

A life well-lived: a caring soul, a loving spirit and a witty personality. Doug will be missed by all who were fortunate enough to have known him. Well done Doug!

IKAS * YMTF

 

"Moon Tree" 49th Anniversary

Today is the 49th Anniversary of the (now fully grown) loblolly pine "Moon Tree" planted on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol building in 1976. See it HERE.

 On March 20th of this year, another "moon tree" was planted in Huntsville.

 

ANOTHER reason to HATE TRUMP.

 from AL.COM

Jimmy Carter “died a happy man” because he “wasn’t the worst president,” Donald Trump said Thursday.

Carter died Dec. 29 at age 100.

Trump made the cruel joke while telling reporters ex-President Joe Biden presided over “the worst administration in the history of our country.

NO, DONALD, YOU, AND YOU ALONE ARE the WORST (of EVERYTHING!) Thanks for the daily reminder.

Alabama residents have almost the LEAST amount of money in the bank:

 

Key Takeaways

• Households in Hawaii have the most cash in the bank at $43,600.
• In contrast, the median bank balance in Mississippi is about $2,000.

 

Affordable Rent Cities

 

Montgomery ranks 88th on a list of 182 U.S. cities with the most (and least) affordable rents. 

Huntsville is ranked 14th.

Mobile 112th. 

Birmingham is 175th. 

See the full list HERE.

NPR/PBS

 From NPR

The Trump administration has drafted a memo to Congress outlining its intent to end nearly all federal funding for public media, which includes NPR and PBS, according to a White House official who spoke to NPR.

The memo, which the administration plans to send to Congress when it reconvenes from recess on April 28, will open a 45-day window in which the House and Senate can either approve the rescission or allow the money to be restored.

The official, who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity, confirmed the existence of the draft.

In a statement on Monday that did not refer to the memo, the White House said: "For years, American taxpayers have been on the hook for subsidizing National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'" The statement includes examples of what the White House said is "trash that passes as 'news'" and "intolerance of non-leftist viewpoints."

Recommended Reading

 

 "I have never been more afraid for America’s future in my life."

FROM A Thomas Friedman column in the NY Times.

1918 Children in NYC

 

5th Anniversary of F-35 Announcement for Alabama

 

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Air National Guard units based in Wisconsin and Alabama have been awarded squadrons of F-35 fighter jets, the U.S. Air Force announced Wednesday, overcoming vocal opposition from people who live near the base in Wisconsin's capital city.

The jets will be placed with the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field in Madison and with the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field in Montgomery, Alabama. The first jets are expected to arrive in late 2023.

The jets will replace older F-16 aircraft and will allow the Air Force to meet other requirements for readiness and training, the Air Force said in a statement.

Locating the jets in Madison has divided the state and community over the past three years, with many people who live near the airport saying noise and pollution from the jets will lessen their quality of life and value of their homes. The Air Force said in a preliminary report that noise from the F-35s could make more than 1,000 homes “incompatible for residential use.”

But there was a broad base of support that included businesses, communities, economic developers, office holders, veterans and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Supporters argued that concerns over the noise are overblown and there won't be much difference from the current F-16s. Advocates said having the next generation of jets will be an economic development boost, ensuring the future of the base in Madison, which employs about 1,200 people.

Madison’s City Council passed a resolution opposing the jets, but the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce has been a vocal supporter. The chamber, which represents businesses in Madison, said the Air National Guard wing has a $100 million annual economic impact on the community. There was also bipartisan support from Wisconsin politicians, including both its Democratic and Republican U.S. senators.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat who represents Madison, said Wednesday that the Air Force never sufficiently addressed his request that the Air Force pay for soundproofing or any financial losses those who live near the base may suffer due to reduced property values.

And Democratic state Rep. Chris Taylor, one of the most vocal critics of the jets, called placing them in a Madison an “unfortunate and harmful decision" that will hurt people's health, quality of life and lower property values.

“Instead of listening to our community, the Air Force is intent on foisting these jets on a place they are not wanted," she said.

Maj. Gen Paul Knapp, leader of the Wisconsin National Guard, praised the awarding of the jets to the base in Madison and said he looked forward to working in partnership with the city and surrounding communities.

"Through collaboration, I’m confident we will continue to be good stewards of the communities in which we work and live," he said.

Three other bases considered for the jets were in Boise, Idaho; Harrison Township, Michigan; and Jacksonville, Florida.

About The PA Governors house ARSON!

 from the N.Y. Times story:

"Once state police became aware of a security breach on the property, they set out looking for an intruder. But, in a matter of minutes, Mr. Balmer was able to break in, set the fire and escape back over the same fence he had scaled to get in, officials said."

Surely there will be a house cleaning at the Pennsylvania State Troopers?

WHY I moved to Alabama in 1976

That's a question I am frequently asked in talking with visitors to the Alabama Capitol building, where I am a docent.

Many people move for a job, and that was my motivation back then, though I figured I would spend "a few years" in the South.

Once I arrived, in Birmingham initially, other opportunities led me to stay much longer...promotions, relationships, home purchases etc.

So here I am, almost a half CENTURY later, still in 'Bama.
 

ASU celebration

 Fred & Carol Grey, with CNN's Nick Valencia (on the right) on Thursday on the ASU campus. It was great to meet them & hear their stories!

 

 

Delta passengers stranded on (Montgomery) Alabama tarmac for seven hours after diversion to airport with no customs staff

Passenger tells of 25-hour ordeal returning to US from Mexico vacation.

Full story is HERE.

Can you read this?

“Thirty percent of Americans read at a level that you would expect from a 10-year-old child.” He continued, “It is actually hard to imagine — that every third person you meet on the street has difficulties reading even simple things.

Source HERE

NO BIG DEAL!

 

Trump trade advisor says stock market plunge ‘No big deal’

Really? Really? a Pronoun war?

 From The Washington Post:

 

The White House’s top spokesperson said she will not engage with reporters who list their pronouns in their email signatures, the Trump administration’s latest move to target expressions of gender identity in the workplace.

“Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to The Washington Post.

The White House did not respond to follow-up questions about when a formal policy on the matter had been implemented or confirm whether this would apply to all correspondence between reporters and other White House officials outside the press office. But at least one Washington Post reporter has recently received replies from White House officials despite having an email signature listing pronouns."

 Washington Post Story HERE.

From a Thomas Friedman Column

 

"Now, Beijing knows that Trump not only blinked, but he so alienated our allies, so demonstrated that his word cannot be trusted for a second, that many of them may never align with us against China in the same way. They may, instead, see China as a better, more stable long-term partner than us.

What a pathetic, shameful performance. Happy Liberation Day."

 N.Y. Times Full column HERE.

Terrible Mine Disaster Anniversary---April 10, 1911

 

Most of those who died were African-American prisoners, part of the "convict-lease system", which continued until it was abolished in 1928. Alabama was the last state in the nation to officially end the practice.

Montgomery Has 3rd Highest STD rate.

 

Top 10 U.S. Cities with the Highest STI Rates

For our 8th annual study of STI rates, using the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Innerbody Research analyzed statistics on a city-by-city basis and developed our list of the Top 100 metropolitan areas with the highest STI rates. In this year's report, the metro area with the highest overall STI rate was Detroit, MI, overtaking Philadelphia, PA, which moved to 2nd. Memphis, TN, which had formerly been ranked 2nd, improved to 4th this year, while the metro area that came in 3rd last year — Jackson, MS — improved to 12th in 2025. At the same time, Montgomery, AL (formerly ranked 7th) worsened to 3rd.

 

 

 

3. Montgomery, AL

STI Cases / 100K Population1,446

HIV Cases97

Chlamydia Cases3,363

Gonorrhea Cases1,771

Syphilis Cases204

SOURCE: HERE.

 

YES!!!!!!!

 

White House Must Allow The Associated Press Full Access to Trump, Judge Rules

The Trump administration has barred the news outlet from certain events for its use of the term “Gulf of Mexico,” which a federal judge agreed amounted to a violation of the First Amendment.

tRump decision rated

 From their N.Y. Times column:

Gail Collins: OK, Bret, I know you can’t tell the future, but give me a prediction. Will President Trump’s tariffs go down as one of the 100 worst decisions in presidential history? 50? 10?

Bret Stephens: As an economic matter, possibly the worst presidential decision ever. Say what you will about Herbert Hoover, but he was an honorable public servant who didn’t have the benefit of hindsight when he signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff into law in 1930. As a foreign policy matter, it’s at least in the top five worst.

We're 117th!!!!!

 Montgomery is #117 out of 182 "safest cities" list.

See the full list HERE. (Huntsville is #20)
 

tRump and Vietnam

 

US, Vietnamese businesses ask Trump to delay 46% tariffs on Vietnam

By Reuters

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HANOI, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. and Vietnamese businesses have asked the Trump administration to delay its planned 46% tariff on Vietnamese goods, saying the levy will hurt them and bilateral commercial relations.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi expressed concern to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a letter dated Saturday, saying the tariff, to take effect on Wednesday, was "shockingly high".

 

"Lower tariffs for products coming into Vietnam, and for products reaching the American consumer is what will help U.S. companies, the economy, and consumers," AmCham and VCCI said in a statement. "Higher tariffs will not."

The Southeast Asian country, a major regional manufacturing base for many Western companies, posted a trade surplus of over $123 billion with the U.S., its largest export destination, last year.

President Donald Trump and Vietnamese leader To Lam agreed on Friday to discuss a deal to remove tariffs, both said after a phone call that Trump called "very productive".

Even before Trump's Wednesday announcement of sweeping global tariffs, Vietnam cut several duties as part of a series of concessions to the U.S., which also included pledges to buy more American goods, such as planes and agriculture products.

AmCham and VCCI said: "A fast and fair agreement would add certainty for businesses and would help to rectify the trade imbalance between the two countries in a manner that benefits both countries."

Reporting by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by William Mallard

Could tRump even find Vietnam on a world map? Last time there was a possibility of him actually going there, he used a series of draft deferments to stay away.

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